Power 50 Profile: Horace Luke, chief innovation officer, HTC

Smartphones hold the key to the mobile industry’s fortunes. Key players, including operator buyers, credit Horace Luke of HTC with playing a key part in the democratisation of the smartphone. HTC has been leading the charge to put Android on the map, thereby helping to make affordable smartphones a reality. But owning a smartphone is one thing – knowing how to use it is quite another. HTC Sense – which bears Luke’s personal thumbprint – is seen as playing an important role here, helping the masses adapt to using more capable devices. HTC’s innovation chief is therefore widely credited with making new technology accessible to all.

2010 Technology

Luke, who joined HTC in 2006 from Microsoft’s Windows Mobile product group, is responsible for advanced breakthrough concepts and designs across a broad portfolio of devices. He has overseen the development of HTC’s much admired Sense user interface, as well as the handsets that have made HTC a name to reckon with. HTC is one of the few manufacturers to really challenge Apple on design for both software and hardware. This undoubtedly contributed to HTC’s breakthrough in Europe last year, especially with the Hero, widely accepted as the finest Android handset at that time. The Taiwanese manufacturer is now capitalising on that with the Legend and the Desire, which some would argue has managed to surpass the iPhone. No mean feat.